My Heritage Chronicles

Belapur today is well known as Central business district of Navi Mumbai and a bustling township. It has been known by different names like Belawal then Sambhayo as well as Shahbaz. The history of Belapur goes back 500 years when it was under Portuguese rule around 1560. Not much details is available prior to this period.It came under the control of Siddhi's of Janjira who built a fort between 1560 to 1570 on a small hillock which is known as Belapur fort. Strategically located at the mouth of Panvel creek, It provided important vantage point to keep an eye on the trade route. The Portuguese wrested control of the area and the fort back from Siddhi's in 1682. In 1733 Maratha's wanted to capture the fort for which Chimaji Appa took a vow that if he is successful in his mission then we would offer garland of Beli leaves in nearby Amruthaishwar temple, After Maratha victory the fort came to be known as Belapur fort. In 1817 Britishers took control of the fort. They destro...

Hero stones are memorial stones commemorating the death of a warrior in a battle, They have been erected from 3rd century BC onwards till 18th century. Found all over India, the largest concentration of such memorials are found in Karnataka. Few such stones have been found in and around Mumbai also. Hero stone are divided into different panels with upper most part would have a jar of nectar, first panel would show subject worshipping some deity, usually Shiva Linga, middle panel would have the warrior or a shrine being lifted towards the heaven and lower panel would depict the battle scene. Sometimes they also have some inscriptions. Read somewhere that just like stone idol of Gods or Goddess is selected and made after a ritual, similarly it is said that when a warrior or a hero dies, the village locals along with priest would first identify the stone to be used for the memorial, worship it, cut the stone and carve it according to the requirement and then it would be installe...

As per the Holy edicts of Skanda Purana as well as Padma Purana, ancient region of Shuraparaka was established by Lord Parshuram who is sixth avatar of Lord Vishnu. Parshuram's name has been associated with lot of legends in and around Vasai. There is a kund or water cistern deep in forest of Tungareshwar which is called Parshuram Kund. The temple of Tungareshwar has association with Parshuram so does the ancient holy teerth of Nirmal village. The twin lakes in Nirmal village is suppose to be creation of Lord Parshuram.  It is said that Adi Shankaracharya had visited Nirmal in BC 497 to revive Vedic dharma which was on wane with the spread of Buddhism. It is said that 5th Shankaracharya of Puri - Swami Vidyaranya visited Nirmal at the behest of King Jalauk of Kalinga. He took Mahasamadhi at Nirmal hillock in 404 BC on dark 11th day of Kartik. Emperor Jalauk was the first to built a samadhi temple here. There are also records of many Shankaracharya having visited thi...